Wuhou Temple

Chengdu Wuhou Shrine is a temple dedicated to Liu Bei, Zhuge Liang, and other heroes of the Shu Han Kingdom. Its origins date back to 221 AD, during the construction of Liu Bei’s Huiling Tomb in the first year of Zhangwu under Emperor Zhaolie of Shu Han. The Han Zhaolie Temple was built simultaneously with Huiling Tomb. Around 500 AD, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period, Wuhou Shrine was moved from Chengdu’s “Shaocheng” to beside Huiling Tomb and the Han Zhaolie Temple, a layout that lasted until the Ming Dynasty. In 1390, the twenty-third year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Chun, the Prince Xian of Shu in Ming Dynasty, visited Wuhou Shrine. Based on the idea that “the monarch and his ministers should be as one,” he combined Huiling Tomb, the Han Zhaolie Temple, and Wuhou Shrine into one complex. Because Zhuge Liang had a greater influence on the common people than Liu Bei, it was commonly known as “Wuhou Shrine.” The cultural relics area of Chengdu Wuhou Shrine is mainly composed of Huiling Tomb, the Han Zhaolie Temple, Wuhou Shrine, and the Sanyi Temple, with Wuhou Shrine as the main building. Wuhou Shrine is divided into the Main Gate, Second Gate, Liu Bei Hall, Transition Hall, Zhuge Liang Hall, Sanyi Temple, etc., arranged on a central axis from south to north. The shrine houses 50 statues of heroes of the Shu Han Kingdom, including Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, as well as numerous steles and plaques about Zhuge Liang and the Three Kingdoms culture.